Drivers Highly Divided on Use of Electronic Message Boards

WHY THE SIGNS ARE ON OR OFF: When the New Mexico Department of Transportation turns those large electronic message boards on — and when it does not — drew among the most reader comments in a recent Journal online survey regarding the boards.

In general, readers broke down into four camps: those who want the signs on all the time, those who want them on on a need-to-know basis, those who want them updated to reflect real-time issues and those who want them unplugged forever.

From Camp 1, all-on-all-the-time, one survey respondent explains “blank sign is bad. ‘Nothing to report’ would be better as then you would at least know the sign is working.”

Another says “I think the boards need to have some text on them at all times, or I’d think they were broken.”

And a third says “no blank signs please, if no delay then say ‘No Delay, drive safely!’ ”

From Camp 2, the need-to-know folks, one respondent says “a blank sign is better if there are no issues. The message boards are distracting to drivers and should be used only for emergencies like AMBER Alerts and unusual road conditions or closures or back-ups due to accidents!”

Another says “if there are no delays, the boards should be off — otherwise they are unnecessarily distracting drivers.”

And a third explains that “if there are no issues to report, a blank sign is best, otherwise drivers slow down to read the sign, which leads to more congestion.”

The New Mexico Department of Transportation is firmly in Camp 2.

For an explanation of when the signs are on and when they are off, we turn to NMDOT’s Ray Herne. He says “the primary purpose of NMDOT’s electronic message boards is to advise motorists of impediments to travel directly ahead of them, such as crashes, unscheduled lane closures, or other emergency information. The boards remain dark — on purpose — if there is no emergency information to relay to motorists to reduce the amount of visual distraction they would encounter. Also, if the message boards are lit continuously, they will become part of the ‘visual background’ and motorists will learn to ignore them, even when there is an emergency message.

“The only exception to the dark message boards is during weekday morning and afternoon drive-times in the Albuquerque metro area, when travel times between exits are posted.”

Most survey respondents fell into Camp 3, reflecting the frustration of drivers like Ben Blackwell, who emails that outdated information makes a tough commute more difficult.

On a recent drive home, Ben says, “I encountered one of the electronic signboards warning of an accident at Paseo with two left lanes closed. Immediately traffic began to slow as people tried to read the signs. This was followed by traffic movement out of the two left-hand lanes and lots of almost rear-enders. The left two lanes continued to move freely. When I got to Paseo headed to the Alameda exit, the only evidence of an accident was some oil absorbent in one lane. I would like for NMDOT to explain to me how I was safer by having the electronic sign. Let’s get rid of them!”

A survey respondent adds “out-of-date info is worse than no info. Many times I drive by a sign with crash or delay information, and by the time I get to the supposed delay, there’s nothing there. The signs should be cleared immediately.”

Another says “many time(s) I’ve noticed that there was a delay due to a wreck on I-40 or I-25, only to get to that point and everything was fine and traffic flowing normally. This is very misleading. If you aren’t going to post correct and current information, they need to come down altogether.”

Yet another says drivers need “more timely info when back-up, closure has been cleared. Often, it seems, information on back-ups and closures remains on the e-sign long after rescue and clean-up crews have finished at the scene.”

One says “the most valuable commodity in road signs is accuracy. (Recently) going south on Wyoming, north of I-40, the illuminated sign informed: two left lanes closed ahead. I moved to the right lane, only to encounter a sign (saying) right lane closed, as it indeed was. And the two left lanes, open, no cones, no construction. … Once a wreck is cleared, delete the sign info about it.”

And finally, a respondent points out “New Mexico took too long to get these signs up; they also need to be updated quick(ly)! A long time coming, but they are behind the curve!”

Herne says “it’s important that drivers know what issues or obstacles they will likely face. Informing motorists of problems through the use of electronic message boards is the most direct and immediate way to inform them of a problem that could adversely affect their safe arrival at their destination.” He says the writers’ accounts speak more to “a traffic-control issue than one involving the effectiveness of the message boards.”

And finally, at least one reader just wants the signs gone. Taking NMDOT’s less-is-more rationale all the way out, the respondent says “my vote is to eliminate these signs because they are hazardous to my health. You have someone on the cellphone, drinking coffee, and now you want them to make a split second decision at 70 mph. We have enough distractions as it is!”

Assistant editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the Metro area on Mondays and West Siders and Rio Ranchoans on Thursdays. Reach her at 823-3858; road@abqjournal.com; P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, NM 87103; or go to ABQjournal.com/traffic to read previous columns and join in the conversation.
— This article appeared on page A4 of the Albuquerque Journal